"Deeper thinking is needed, including improvements in terms of legislation, especially regarding narcotics," he said here on Thursday after attending the 2024 Public Service Compliance Assessment Awarding Event.
Under the current Narcotics Law, drug users in the country face imprisonment.
The minister said that one of the things that the government is currently considering is not imprisoning drug users and rehabilitating them instead.
He noted that a solution needs to be found to tackle the overcrowding of prisons, where more than 50 percent of prisoners are lodged over drug cases.
According to the Ministry of Law, 52.97 percent of people in prisons, both prisoners and inmates, are detained in connection with drug abuse cases.
Of the 271,385 people lodged in prisons across Indonesia, 135,823 are in jail due to drug cases.
The number of people detained in prisons has exceeded the capacity of 140,424. Thus, there is 97 percent overcrowding.
On the same occasion, Mahendra said that he will coordinate with the Ministry of Immigration and Penitentiary Affairs to take firm action and carry out an investigation regarding the escape of seven prisoners from Class I Salemba Detention Center, Central Jakarta.
He observed that the escape of seven drug detainees on Tuesday is a shared concern.
The investigation, which will be conducted by the Ministry of Immigration and Penitentiary Affairs, will aim to find out whether the incident occurred due to negligence or intentional factors.
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Translator: Putu Indah, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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